A walking stick is commonly used for a variety of reasons and activities. Trekkers may use a walking stick in order to ease navigating in complex terrains such as in forests or trails. A person (such as a visually impaired person) may use a walking stick to simply ease commuting around obstacles, whilst some users may use a walking stick for aesthetic reasons such as to emulate the appearance of a statesman or “Mr Peanut”.
Typically, a walking stick is only made of a piece of rigid material and it only assists a user to navigate by providing physical supports. A visually impaired user relies on using the walking stick to make physical contact with a surface (e.g. tactile paving) to obtain relevant information. These may also be known as a “white cane” or a cane for the visually impaired. Despite their widespread uses, these designs may be ineffective and sometimes dangerous for assisting a visually impaired person to navigate as they only offer limited navigational assistance.